Paper storage folder



United States Patent Inventor David Meade Peebles 325 Marcy Ave., Oxon Hill, Maryland 20021 App]. No. 807,588

Filed March 17, I969 Patented Sept. 29, 1970 PAPER STORAGE FOLDER 6 Claims, 9 Drawing Figs.

U.S. Cl 150/.5, v 206/1, 229/1 .5 Int. Cl 365d 37/00 Field of Search l 50/ .5;

206/] A, 62PR, 46FCM; 229/15 m13,s30,91s

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 3,005,544 l0/l96l Chaplin 206/62(PK)UX 325L460 5/1966 Edmonds ..-206/46(FCM)UX Primary Examiner-Donald F. Norton Attorney-BY. F ishburne, Jr.

ABSTRACT: A folder having opposed side sections which are maintained spaced apart by a strip of crushable material. The arrangement allowsthe placement of papers having a certain thickness inside of the folder followed by crushing of said strip to adjust the final thickness of the folder to that of the papers being stored therein.

Patented Sept 29, 1970 DAVID MEADE PEEBLES PAPER STORAGE FOLDER BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Storage space for papers-is becoming so increasingly expensive as time goes on that even a small saving of space in filing.

cabinets and the Iikeiseconomically important. Various forms of filing folders and envelopes are knownwhich receive papers for storage. Some of these are inconvenient to use and relatively costly. Some simpler folders have no provision for expanding or adjusting to take care of varying. thickness storage materials. Atleast one known type of folder or .en--

velope has pleated end walls to permit expansion "but this construction has the disadvantage of awkwardness and the storage papers tend to be pinched or bound in the; pleat folds.

The main objective of this invention'is to provide'a'simplified and improved economical folder for papers which is' adjustable readily as to thicknessand which has the ability to' receive papers and release'themwithout pinching or binding. The invention structure is very economical to manufacture out of readily available materials and features a crushable spacer or separator element between two sides of the folderr which allow the ultimate thickness to beregulated so as to meet particular needs without loss or wasteof storage space.

Other features and advantages 'of the-invention will be apparent during the course of the following description.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OFDRAWING FIGURES FIG. I is a perspective view of a paper storage folder according to one embodiment of the invention.

FIG. 2 isan enlarged fragmentary vertical section taken-on line 2-2 of FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 is a section similar to FIG. 2'illustrating the crushing.

of the folder to reduce its thickness.

FIG. 4 is a perspective view of a folder in accordance with a second embodiment.

FIG. 5 is a sectional view similar to FIG. 2 taken on line 5-5' of FIG. 4.

FIG. 6 is a sectional view similar to FIG. 3 showing the crushing or compressing of the folder in FIG. 4 to adjust its thickness.

FIG. 7 is a perspective view of a further modified folder embodying the invention.

FIG. 8 is a fragmentary horizontalsection'taken on line8-8' of FIG. 7.

' FIG. 9' is a composite fragmentary perspective view .of crushable spacer elements.

DETAILED DESQRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Referring first to FIGS. 1 to 30f the drawingswherein like numerals designate like parts, a paper storage folder comprises opposed sections or sides I6; rectangular inform, andconsisting of separate sheets of relatively stiff manila paper or the like. Disposed between the folder sides 16 along the bottom edges thereof is a filler or spacer element 1 70f predetermined thickness and height adhesively secured to the interior faces of the-folder sides I6, as indicated at 18. The element 17' which constitutes an essential feature of the invention is formed of relatively rigid material which will maintain its shape under normal conditions of use but hasthe ability to'be crushedunder a relatively mild compressive force to a reduced thickness and then to maintain such reduced thickness without substantial rebound. or expansion, as exhibited in FIG. 3. The element 17 is formed ideally as a continuous strip or bar of foamed plastic cut to proper length for the folder and such materials as foamed polyurethane, and foamed polystyrene and certain other plastics are suitable. Corrugated fiberboard and some forms of balsa wood also possess the inherent crushability or compressability required for the strip 17. In-some cases, the element 17 need not be continuous and may be formed in short sections placed endto-end.

thickness as shown in FIG. 3, such thickness then conforming; to the thicknessof the papers being stored in the folder. When the pressure is removed from the. crushable element .17, there will be very little, if any, expansion of the same'dueto the in-v herent nature of thematerial which is lightweight and relative ly rigid. When this'material is crushed, its internal cells break down permanently and the. material does not expand, appreciably when :the compressive force is removed.

The elements 17 maybe provided in.varyingthicknessesv ranging from a small fraction of an inch -to three-fourths of an inch or more. Additionally,theheightof the filler element may be-varied to accommodate different widths. of papers which it may be desired to store in thefolder and .to have .edge

portions of the papers visible at theopen topof thefolder as where the-same is placed inafile cabinet with:the.strip,l7 arranged downwardly. .FIG. f the drawings shows crushable fillerstrips'or-bars A, B and C of successively increased thickness and height to illustrate the above point. In this manner, a. storage folder of increased utility and onewhich.

saves a. lot of space otherwise wasted is provided'in avery economical manner. Furthermore, the. inventionfolder is handy to use andpapers placed therein do not tend to stick.

within a crease, pleat or fold. 1

FIGS. 4 through 6'show a modification .of the, invention where a manila paper folder I9 is formed of a single sheet 20 folded around arelatively thick crushable filler strip. 2l and adhesively bonded .thereto as shown in FIG. 5. FIG. 6;:shows the crushed condition of thefolder and filler strip after a cornpressive forceis appliedthereto. As shownin- FIG. 5; the folder has a rounded bottom 22" as distinguishedfrom an abrupt crease or fold. In all other respects, thefolder and its use issubstantially identicalto FIGS. 1' to 3 amino further description is thought to be necessary.

FIGS. 7'and 8 show a further feature wherein a folder-23 is formed of separate side portions 24 and 25 having a crushable filler strip or spacer 26-adhesively mounted along the lower edge: portions of the sides as previouslyv described. Additionally, crushable strips 27' of the same material above described are provided along one end or both ends of. the folder and adhesively secured to one of the sides 24:0r25, as shown. This arrangement forms a top opening cavity or chamber 28 for papers and aids inguiding the papers into the folder and prevents their endwise displacement therein..

Preferably, the strips 27 and 26 have the same thickness and the same degree of crushability enabling the folder 23' to have its thickness adjusted as above described by compressing all of the strips 26. and 27'with the foot or the like. In-some cases, both walls-24 and 25-may adhere to the end strips 27, injwhich case the device is no longer a folder but becomes an adjustable thickness envelope having a top opening.

It is'now believedv that the several features and'advantages of the invention willbe apparent to those skilled. in the art without the need for further description.

I- claim:

1. A storage receptacle for papers comprising a body portion having opposed side walls which are substantially coex-. tensive in areaand adapted to receive papers to be stored therebetween, and a crushable filler element disposed between said side walls along edge portions thereof and maintaining the side walls initially spaced apart apredetermined distance and beingsecured to at least one side wall, said filler elementformed of a material which is readily compressible and has extremely little tendency to expand toward its original thickness after compression.

2. The structure of claim I, wherein said storage receptacle is in the form of a folder having separate side wallsections, said sections adhesively bonded to the filler element along corresponding edge portions of said sections.

between said side walls along at least one end portion of the receptacle, said additional element substantially at right angles to the first-named filler element and being crushable and being substantially of the same thickness as the first-named element.

6. The structure of claim 1, wherein said receptacle is an envelope of variable thickness open along one edge thereof and having variable thickness crushable filler strips along the other three edges thereof, said envelope being rectangular. 

